overseas media on Falun Gong

Many Chinese people, shocked by the macabre suicide pact of Falun Gong members, Wednesday redoubled their condemnation of the cult.

"Falun Gong is poison," said 60-year-old Beijing retiree Yu Changhe, one of many who reacted with revulsion at the tragic episode last week in which cult members set themselves on fire.

The horrific episode has dispelled any illusions people might have had about the cult and its ringleader Li Hongzhi.

The horror was all the greater when the public learned that a mother who died had persuaded her 12-year-old daughter to also douse herself with petrol in the incident that took place on January 23 in Tian'anmen Square.

The girl is suffering from 40 per cent burns and heavy respiratory injuries in her trachea.

"That woman was influenced by Falun Gong leader Li Hongzhi and went on to poison her daughter," Yu said.

Five Falun Gong practitioners, including 12-year-old Liu Siying, soaked themselves in gasoline and set themselves on fire.

Liu's mother Liu Chunling died on the spot, and the four others were seriously injured. Two others were found and stopped in their attempts.

"What a pity that could happen to a child. Falun Gong really is harmful," said a Beijing woman surnamed Lan.

"Such terrible suffering makes it clear that Falun Gong must be eradicated," 52-year-old Wang Fuyi said after seeing the grim newspaper photos posted near his Beijing residence.

"We also have to find a way to re-educate these people to make them normal again."

Students and teachers from the Remin University of China reacted with shock as they watched the China Central Television news on Tuesday which featured the suicide event.

They expressed sympathy in particular for the plight of Chen Guo, a 19-year-old girl student at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing who suffered burns to 80 per cent of her body.

Li Renfang, a fourth-year undergraduate at Tsinghua University, said: "I feel great pity for the 19-year-old girl, who was a victim of Falun Gong. Her bright future has been ruined even if she does survive."

"Facts show that Falun Gong deprives human beings of their love of life," said Gao Xiangyang, deputy secretary of the committee of the Communist Youth League at the university.

The suicide pact has brought a sad mood to the country where people had been celebrating the week-long Spring Festival holiday.

Wang Baohua, a Beijing taxi driver, said he felt very angry.

"Falun Gong tried to ruin the happy mood of the Spring Festival, the biggest holiday in China," Wang said.

"Why did they choose New Year Eve? Why did they choose Tian'anmen Square? Apparently, it was organized and well planned."

Guo Huanjun, a worker at Beijing Zhonghai Construction Co, said: "I wonder why Li Hongzhi didn't drink gasoline and set fire to himself in order to reach heaven."

The suicide tragedy also shocked Shanghai residents. Hu Chengwu from the Jing'ansi neighourhood said that several families living in his apartment building sent e-mail messages to overseas relatives to inform them of the horrific spectacle staged by the cult, according to Shanghai-based Liberation Daily.

The suicide pact appeared to be the sect followers' most radical act so far. It came three weeks after Li Hongzhi, who lives in the United States and is revered as "master" by his followers, suggested that more vigorous protests were justified.

In Hong Kong, the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government also yesterday denounced Falun Gong as "an evil cult".

"The central government has proved it," said Vice-Director Zheng Guoxiong.

He noted that his office has the responsibility of querying the cult group's legitimacy in the SAR and checking whether it has stuck to its registered nature and principles.

Speaking at a reception party, he said: "As the central government's liaison office in the SAR, we have the responsibility to state explicitly our stand and points of view."

(China Daily by Gang Bian)